Dou Technique: Suction Palm

The next day.

Jiang Nian briefly informed Spirit Hall and took Qian Renxue to the Soul Hunting Forest.

By now, ordinary exercise alone could no longer improve Qian Renxue's physique. Only by drawing out her body's potential in actual combat could she break through her constraints and advance further.

The Soul Hunting Forest was a Soul Hunting ground managed by Spirit Hall. Unlike in the Star Dou Forest, the levels of its Soul Beasts were kept under control.

Jiang Nian could let Qian Renxue act freely without worrying, while he searched for medicinal herbs for her upcoming cultivation.

After entering the Soul Hunting Forest, Qian Renxue took Jiang Nian's hand. "Teacher, are we going to hunt Soul Beasts?"

Jiang Nian nodded. "Yes. Xue'er, you've only studied combat theory at Spirit Hall. Theory alone isn't enough if you want to become strong."

At the same time, Jiang Nian spread out his Soul Power, instantly covering half the Soul Hunting Forest as he searched for a place suitable for Qian Renxue's combat training.

Jiang Nian soon located an area where Hundred-Year Soul Beasts gathered.

Before long, the two reached their destination.

Jiang Nian stood with Qian Renxue on high ground, overlooking the Scarlet Fire Lizards foraging in the small valley below.

There were three in total. Two were less than a hundred years old, and even the strongest had only just passed a hundred years.

Jiang Nian nodded. "Watch closely, Xue'er. I'll teach you your first Dou Technique now. It's a Low Xuan Class technique called Suction Palm!"

As he spoke, Jiang Nian raised his hand and explained, "The principle behind Suction Palm is simple. You use fine control over Soul Power to pull a target toward you. Once mastered to the utmost, it can draw in a thousand-jin boulder, or even tear the blood from a person's body."

Qian Renxue's eyes widened as she listened. "Teacher, this Dou Technique is amazing! Can you really use it without a Soul Ring?"

"Why would I lie to you? Watch closely." Jiang Nian controlled his Soul Power, and the blood was drawn straight out of the two Scarlet Fire Lizards that were less than a hundred years old, killing them on the spot.

The sight came as an enormous shock to little Qian Renxue.

So Soul Masters could also fight using Soul Power, rather than relying entirely on skills obtained from Soul Rings.

Jiang Nian pointed a finger and transmitted the essentials of cultivating Suction Palm into Qian Renxue's mind. Then he looked at the Scarlet Fire Lizard fleeing below. "Xue'er, go on down. Use that Hundred-Year Soul Beast as a target to practice Suction Palm. You can eat today when you've killed it."

Qian Renxue still felt a little apprehensive as she looked at the Hundred-Year Soul Beast, but she didn't want to disappoint her teacher, so she steeled herself and jumped down.

Jiang Nian nodded in satisfaction.

In fact, after a month of conditioning with medicinal baths, Qian Renxue's body could already withstand the strength of Soul Beasts under five hundred years old. This Hundred-Year Soul Beast wouldn't harm her.

But being able to withstand its attacks didn't mean she wouldn't get hurt, nor did it mean she could kill it.

Without a Soul Ring, Qian Renxue could rely only on her fighting skills and the Suction Palm he had just taught her.

Down in the valley, Qian Renxue had blocked the Scarlet Fire Lizard's escape, but she was still a child. It would have been a lie to say she wasn't afraid of a Soul Beast twice her size.

She glanced up at Jiang Nian, gritted her teeth, and shouted, "I'm not afraid of you!"

Then she actually charged at it.

As expected, the Scarlet Fire Lizard swept its tail sideways, sending Qian Renxue flying.

Qian Renxue grunted. Her chest felt as though a heavy weight were pressing down on it, and she could barely catch her breath.

Fortunately, her physique was strong enough that the blow didn't do her much harm.

She got up again, still intent on trading blows with the Scarlet Fire Lizard through brute force, only to be sent flying once more.

This repeated five or six times. Qian Renxue ached all over from the beating, but she still gritted her teeth and stood up.

"Teacher is watching me. I can't disappoint him again. I can't lose him again..." she muttered, a gleam flashing in her eyes.

This time, she charged straight at it again.

But just as the Scarlet Fire Lizard was about to attack, she learned to observe its muscle movements and anticipate its next move, successfully twisting aside to dodge the blow.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, she leaped onto the Scarlet Fire Lizard's back.

After fighting it repeatedly, she had discovered that it couldn't deal with attacks from its back. This was the key to her victory.

Gritting her teeth, Qian Renxue clenched her little hands into fists and hammered the Scarlet Fire Lizard's neck, driving it to charge wildly about as if it had gone mad.

But Qian Renxue was still young, and her Soul Power was only level 8. Simple physical attacks couldn't do any real damage to the Scarlet Fire Lizard.

At this point, Jiang Nian could hardly bear to watch any longer. He sent her a reminder: "Girl, Suction Palm!"

Only then did Qian Renxue remember that she was here to practice Suction Palm.

After the Scarlet Fire Lizard threw her off, Qian Renxue quickly got up and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

After being struck repeatedly with such tremendous force, it was impossible to escape without a single injury.

She didn't charge in again. Instead, she began trying to control her Soul Power according to what Jiang Nian had imparted to her soul.

On her first attempt, she failed.

The Scarlet Fire Lizard was completely unaffected. It charged over and lashed her with its tail.

She failed again on her second attempt. This time she managed to control her Soul Power, but she pulled herself toward it and took another vicious lash from its tail.

She failed again and again, and the wounds on Qian Renxue's body grew more numerous.

"This girl really is stubborn..." Jiang Nian sighed. "She could suffer less if she just got on the Scarlet Fire Lizard's back, but she insists on using Suction Palm the way I did."

Even so, Jiang Nian didn't intervene. If he wanted Qian Renxue to be able to stand on her own in the future, he couldn't avoid being ruthless when necessary.

Jiang Nian could hardly bear to keep watching. She was a little girl like a porcelain doll, and his own disciple at that. No one could bear to see her suffer like this.

But this suffering was necessary if she wanted to grow stronger. "Never mind. I'll prepare the materials for the medicinal bath first."

At dusk, a delighted voice rang out from the valley below. "Teacher, I did it! I've learned Suction Palm!"

Jiang Nian looked at her swaying on her feet, then at the Scarlet Fire Lizard beside her, its brain burst apart by Suction Palm. He nodded with satisfaction and hurriedly flashed down to her.

The moment Qian Renxue threw her arms around Jiang Nian, the pain in her body and her mental exhaustion finally became too much, and she passed out.

"Thank you for your hard work." Jiang Nian carried Qian Renxue into a nearby cave and used his Soul Power to tend to her body's meridians.

At the same time, Qian Renxue's panel appeared before him.

[Target: Qian Renxue]

[Soul Power Level: 8 (Soul Scholar)]

[Template: Seraphim (unlock progress: 6%)]

[Note: The Seraphim template requires the absorption of a flame Soul Ring to break through to 10%]

[Current state toward host: dependent]

[Cultivation method: Flame Mantra (modified for the current world, compatibility: 99%)]

[Dou Technique: Suction Palm]

He hadn't expected the Seraphim template's activation to increase by 4% in a single day. That was a pleasant surprise.

After tending to Qian Renxue's body to prevent any hidden injuries from being left behind, Jiang Nian began preparing the medicinal bath.

Before, Qian Renxue had gathered the herbs and boiled them herself for her medicinal baths. They had some effect, but even more of the medicinal properties had been lost.

Now Jiang Nian personally extracted their medicinal properties with Bone Spirit Cold Flame, which would work much better than boiling them.

It wasn't until the bright moon hung high in the sky that Qian Renxue slowly woke up. The first thing she did was look for Jiang Nian.

Only when she saw that she had fallen asleep curled up in her teacher's arms did she relax and nuzzle against him. "Teacher, I've learned Suction Palm!"

"Mm, I saw. You did great, Xue'er." Jiang Nian took down a roasted Soft Bone Rabbit. "Eat. Once you're full, I'll prepare a medicinal bath for you."

"Thank you, Teacher."

Qian Renxue dug in. After fighting the Scarlet Fire Lizard all day, she really was starving.

Once Qian Renxue had eaten her fill, Jiang Nian took out a bath barrel he had prepared beforehand and poured in the warm water he had heated nearby. Then he took out a jade bottle and added two cyan drops, instantly turning the whole barrel of warm water blue-green.

"Xue'er, get into the medicinal bath. It might hurt a little, but its body-tempering effect will be much better than the baths you used to prepare yourself. I'll stand guard outside for you."

Although Qian Renxue was still a child, he still had to observe the proper boundaries. Otherwise, if the netizens from his previous life found out, wouldn't they start electrocuting him on the spot?

Qian Renxue watched Jiang Nian's retreating figure with a happy smile.

Teacher is so gentle!

Her smile lasted until she stepped into the barrel. The bone-piercing pain nearly made her cry out.

Teacher called this a little painful?!